Samiullah Afridi represented Dr Shakil Afridi, who was jailed in 2012 for 33 years for running a fake vaccination campaign believed to have helped the U.S. intelligence agency track down bin Laden. That sentence was overturned in 2013 and the doctor is now in jail awaiting a new trial.

Samiullah Afridi was shot dead on Tuesday as he was returning to his home in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said. According to media, he had recently returned there from abroad after leaving Pakistan for his safety.

"He was returning home when armed men opened fire. He died on the spot," police official Jamal Hussain said. A hospital spokesman added that Samiullah Afridi was shot twice, in the abdomen and the neck.

Two Pakistan militant groups claimed responsibility for the laywer's death. Jundullah, a Taliban splinter group, said: "We killed him because he was defending Shakil, who is our enemy."

"Samiullah Afridi had represented his case," Ehsan said, "that's why we decided to eliminate him when we can't approach Dr Shakil."

U.S. officials have hailed Shakil Afridi as a hero for helping pinpoint bin Laden's location before a 2011 raid by U.S. special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed the al Qaeda leader after more than a decade of searching for him.

Samiullah Afridi stopped representing the doctor last year, saying he had become a target. "I have been receiving threats from various organizations, and because of those threats I even went to Dubai some time back," he told Reuters TV.

"Some organizations do not want us to continue defending this case ... Not only is my life in danger, my family is also in danger. I have therefore decided to quit this case."

Shakil Afridi's original sentence damaged ties between Pakistan and the United States that were already strained over the bin Laden raid. Angry U.S. senators withheld $33 million in aid from Pakistan in retaliation.

New Delhi: The huge cut of 16 per cent in the education sector for 2015-16 has been attributed to the higher tax devolution to the states as has been recommended by the Finance Commission. The Union Budget presented for 2015-16 has proposed Rs 69,074 crore as against Rs 82,771 allocated in the previous fiscal."The Budget estimates for the HRD Ministry has been drawn up in the context of the 14th Finance Commission wherein a higher tax devolution to the states has been recommended," HRD Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

New Delhi: The government's spectrum auction kitty on Tuesday rose to Rs 1,07,000 crore at the end of 12th day of the biggest sale of 2G and 3G airwaves. As per the Department of Telecom (DoT), about 88 per cent spectrum has been provisionally allocated to telecom firms at the end of 74 rounds."The provisional amount committed by bidders at the end of 74th round is over Rs 1,07,000 crore. Majority of service areas are going at a premium over reserve price," DoT said. The total auction proceeds stood at Rs 1,03,046 crore at the end of 11th day with over 87 per cent of the airwaves provisionally allocated to bidders.DoT said seven rounds of bidding were completed on Tuesday. "There is robust bidding going on in 1800 MHz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands," it added. The auction will continue on Wednesday as about 12 per cent of spectrum is yet to be sold.Sources said 800 MHz continued to see aggressive bidding with price increment in 3 circles. The circles of Assam, Delhi and Maharashtra drew interest of telecom operators and there was excess demand for these circles at the end of 74th round. On the whole, 8-10 circles witnessed bidding activity on Tuesday, sources said. Bidding was seen in Himachal Pradesh, UP East and Kerala in 1800 MHz, and 900 MHz in West Bengal, according to sources.There was, however, no activity today in 2100 Mhz band, used for offering 3G services. Three circles in the band, namely Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai have failed to draw bids so far in the auction, though others saw bidding earlier.Incumbents Bharti Airtel and Vodafone are locked with Reliance Jio to protect their spectrum they need to carry voice and data in the world's second-biggest smartphone market. In all, eight bidders are in the fray.The government is not disclosing the names of the successful bidders as yet as a case is pending before the Supreme Court. The next hearing on the case is on March 26.